Wallops Station

8/8/2019 Wallops Station

1/4

AN EDUCATIONAL PUBLICATION OF THENATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

SERIES 0-11/12-67

Research at Wallops Station, established in 1945on the Atlantic Coast of Virginia, is directed pri-marily toward gathering information about earth'satmosphere and its near-space environment. In-formation obtained as a result of Wallops researchis freely distributed to the world scientific com-munity. The station is located about 40 miles south-east of Salisbury, Maryland.Aerial view of NASA's Wallops Island, Virginia, rocket launch site. A great many of this nation's international cooperativerocket launchings are conducted here.

WALLOPS SLAND, VIRGINIASince 1945, Wallops station has launched morethan 6,000 research vehicles. Consisting of from

one to seven rocket stages, these vehicles are usedto gather scientific information on the flight charac-teristics of airplanes, launch vehicles and space-craft and to increase our knowledge of the upperatmosphere and space environment. Some 300experiments are sent aloft each year. The launch


2/4

vehicles used vary in size and power from the smallArcas and Hasp meteorological rockets to the four-stage Scout with orbital capability.

In addition to supporting rocket-propelled ex-periments, Wallops uses its facilities for numerousother research projects, such as space componenttests utilizing helicopter or aircraft drops; slowspeed landing techniques for jet aircraft; laser andradar tracking of aircraft and satellites.Wallops' mission includes management of severalNASA-sponsored projects, such as University Ex-plorer satellites, the Experimental Inter-AmericanMeteorological Rocket Network (EXAMETNET), aBio-Space Technology Training Program, and imple-mentation of remote site launching and trackingfacilities -for example, a Mobile Range Facilityand an Arctic launch site at Point Barrow, Alaska.

Most of the research and development workperformed at Wallops Station falls in the followingcategories:AERONAUTICAL RESEARCH

A considerable number of the experiments aredesigned to obtain scientific information on theflight characteristics of vehicles and spacecraft andaerodynamic data related to aerospace flight. Forexample, experiments in the reentry physics pro-

A Scout rocket vehicle on its launchingstand is ready for firing.

Wallops Station, Virginia, overall sitemap indicating highway approaches tothis NASA Atlantic coast rocket station.


3/4

gram are flown on the Scout vehicle and othermultistage configurations. Data are being obtainedfor design, construction, and instrumentation ofmanned spacecraft of the Apollo type to be used inlunar and interplanetary missions, and which willreenter the atmosphere at much greater speedsthan earth-orbiting vehicles.COMPONENTS AND SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

Many of the experiments launched at Wallops fallin the category of basic testing and developmentof components, systems, subsystems, and instru-mentation to be flown in later types of vehicles andspacecraft. For example, a number of small-scaleand full-scale Project Mercury capsules were sci-entifically investigated and/or tested at Wallops in1959-1961 in support of NASA's manned spacecraft program, before the astronauts were launchedfrom Cape Kennedy.

In 1959 and 1960, a series of 100-feet diameterinflatable spheres made of thin mylar plastic (abouthalf the thickness of the cellophane on a packageof cigarettes) and coated with aluminum werelaunched from Wallops Island in suborbital flightsto test the feasibility and performance of inflatablespheres as passive communications satellites.

These flights were in preparation for the success~

.SOUNDING ROCKETS

Much of the Wallops research effort is in supportof the national sounding rocket program. Soundingrdckets fly in nearly vertical trajectories, carryingpackages of. scientific instruments to heights offrom 40 to several hundred or even thousands ofmiles above the earth's surface. Their effective life-time is usually only a few minutes, until they dropback to earth. All of the scientific data which thevehicle and its payload will make available must becollected in this brief period.

Sounding rockets are used primarily to fill thegap for obtaining data between the balloon level(about 20 miles altitude maximum) and the satellitelevel.

Wallops Station also renders assistance inmeteorological and space research to other Govern-ment agencies, including the Atomic Energy Com-mission, the Department of Commerce Environ-mental Science Servlces Administration, and t~eDepartment of Defense; to research groups in indus-

ful launching of the Echo I Satellite from CapeKennedy on August 12, 1960, and Echo lionJanuary 25, 1964.In October 1962 an experiment was conductedto check out some of the instruments programmedfor the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO)Satellite, scheduled for later launch.

In 1961 experiments were conducted at Wallopsto test equipment to be flown in the TopsideSounder Satellites of the United States and Canada.These satellites measure the characteristics of theupper ionosphere by sending pulsed radio signalsfrom above (topside sounding), as compared withthe previous method of ionospheric sounding bysending from ground stations radio signals whichare reflected back from the lower ionosphere.

On August 18, 1964, a reentry experiment wasflown on a Scout vehicle to test heat shield materialbeing considered for use on the Apollo spacecraft.

On June 7, 1966, an experiment was conductedto study the behavior of liquids under zero gravityconditions. Designated the Weightless AnalysisSounding Probe (WASP), the 1,500-pound payloadconsisted of a scale model of a liquid hydrogen fueltank. Two smaM TV c;:ameras, extended on 5-footbooms, televised pictures of the behavior of theliquid (ethyl alcohol) under zero-g. Data from thisexperiment are used in launch vehicle developmentprograms of Centaur and Saturn which have liquidhydrogen upper stages designed to coast in orbitand then restart their engines.


4/4

Illustrated is one of Wallops Station'sseveral telemetry antennas used toreceive signals from NASA experimentsin space.

try and colleges and universities, and to scientificgroups and Government space agencies in othercountries.

In addition, Wallops plays a major role in NASA'sprogram of international cooperation in space re-search. Some 50 countries have sent representa-tives to Wallops Station over the past few years toobserve its operations or seek assistance in estab-lishing a sounding rocket launch facility of theirown. Several of these countries have conductedtheir experiments at Wallops for launching. Othershave sent technical personnel here for training inmethods and techniques of launching soundingrocket and satellite payloads. Wallops, in turn, hasprovided technical- assistance to countries in theselection and construction of their own launchsites and in the launching of their first experi-ments.

data acquisition functions for experiments launchedelsewhere. These include the weather satellites, theEcho communications satellites, the Beacon Ex-plorer satellites, the Atlas-Centaur and Saturn tests,and others.

Wallops Island is separated from mainland Vir-ginia, by two miles of marsh and inland waterway.It is connected to the mainland by a causewayand bridge. The island, approximately six mileslong and one-half mile in width at its widest point,takes its name from John Wallop, a 17th centurysurveyor. The launch sites, assembly shops, block-houses, dynamic balancing facilities, some rocketstorage buildings, and related facilities, are locatedon the island. Wallops Mainland Station Base occu-pies a 2,200-acre site about six miles northwestof Wallops Island. Located there are Administrativeoffices, technical service support shops, a rocketinspection and storage area, Range Control Center,Main telemetry station and a weather satellitetracking station owned and operated by ESSA(Environmental Science Services Administration).

SMALL SCIENTIFIC SATELLITESWallops also has the capability for launching

small scientific satellites, using the four-stagesolid-fueled Scout launch vehicle. Eleven satelliteshave been placed in orbit (mid-1967), includingseveral in the Explorer series, the United Kingdom'sAriel II, and the Italian San Marco ,. DIRECTOR: MR. ROBERT L. KRIEGER

Wallops StationNational Aeronautics and Space AdministrationWallops Island, Virginia 23337

TRACKING AND DATA ACQUISITIONIn addition to tracking experiments launched at

Wallops, the station also is engaged in tracking and

U.S GOYERNMENTPRINTING OFFICE ,g'.O-Z9O-7'7

Documents

Wallops Station